Taking notes is one thing many people do all through the day. I do know I am unable to get by way of mine with out setting reminders or jotting down just a few issues to jog my reminiscence. It is like I am nonetheless in class and note-taking is my saving grace earlier than the subsequent take a look at — besides as an alternative of learning, I am simply attempting to not neglect one thing I must do.
Whether or not I am in a gathering or researching a brand new matter for a narrative, I take notes as I am going. I strive to determine what is going on on with a brand new program or make sense of a subject that is getting traction currently, and I jot issues down alongside the best way. My favourite app to make use of is Obsidian. It is nice for protecting tabs on all types of matters, and a free, easy-to-use note-taking app that is grow to be widespread with tens of millions of customers.
I am additionally an enormous proponent of NotebookLM and figured why not attempt to use Google’s note taking app to assist me decipher a few of my notes in Obsidian. What I discovered was really fairly shocking. Not solely is my handwriting atrocious, however my notes will be actually onerous to decipher. Fortunately, AI was in a position to assist me spot some patterns.
Obsidian is straightforward to make use of and easy to combine
I used to be happy with the way to convey it over
In the event you’re utilizing Obsidian, you’ll be able to open totally different sorts of notes and use them for absolutely anything. On the finish of the day, you are the one typing in them, so it is fully as much as you the way you employ them. I like to make use of Obsidian to maintain monitor of my week. I often have a word with reminders for every day, together with one for freelance matters I need to analysis for story concepts. I will even make a day by day word for random ideas or issues I must look into.
That may current a little bit of a problem, because you would possibly lose the connections between your notes — and the AI could not perceive how every thing matches collectively. So, utilizing Markdown hyperlinks is necessary.
Fortunately, there are just a few methods to combine the notes I preserve in my Obsidian vault. I can export them as PDFs and add them to NotebookLM. It is easy sufficient, however you do have to avoid wasting every word individually. That may current a little bit of a problem, because you would possibly lose the connections between your notes — and the AI could not perceive how every thing matches collectively. So, utilizing Markdown hyperlinks is necessary.
Markdown is the key ingredient for straightforward integration
You’ll be able to copy, paste, and get the hyperlinks
As a result of NotebookLM works with Markdown, I take advantage of Markdown hyperlinks in my Obsidian notes. I depend on these hyperlinks to attach my notes and assist me perceive which matters are a part of the identical analysis thread. I do preserve them in folders in my vault, however slightly than opening one word after which one other simply to toggle between them, a Markdown hyperlink lets me soar from one to the opposite.
Which means I can copy and paste textual content from Obsidian into NotebookLM, and it understands how the notes are linked… all due to the Markdown hyperlinks. That is confirmed once I use one of many many options that NotebookLM presents to assist folks research and do analysis. After all, I additionally fill out my pocket book with different analysis hyperlinks exterior of Obsidian to color a fuller image of no matter matter I am diving into, particularly if I am beginning with notes I uploaded from Obsidian.
Thoughts Map helps me join my analysis additional
I uploaded a listing of the notes I had opened at this time and threw them into NotebookLM’s Thoughts Map. It mapped out all of my notes, exhibiting how they’re linked and the way to greatest navigate by way of them. It even discovered elements of my analysis and notes that I hadn’t linked through Markdown hyperlinks and grouped them collectively. Which may seem to be a small factor, however I achieve this a lot analysis on totally different matters that it may be powerful to maintain monitor of every thing.
Granted, I do not all the time put every thing into Obsidian. However I do regularly hyperlink again to older notes from new ones. Utilizing Thoughts Map helps me make deeper connections to notes I’ll have missed linking. I additionally actually loved the newer NotebookLM instrument, Experiences. I will add in a few of my scribblings (which can learn like they’re from a madman) and Experiences can flip that right into a briefing doc to assist me higher perceive each my very own writing and the analysis hyperlinks I’ve added from across the net. Since NotebookLM makes use of no matter I present as its supply materials, it could pull the solutions I want straight from my analysis.
Generally, I simply use it to summarize and assist me arrange
I can ask inquiries to remind me in regards to the matter
I do lots in Obsidian to maintain monitor of every thing occurring in each my skilled and private life. Since I am at my laptop for a lot of the day, I converted from the iPhone’s Notes app to Obsidian as a result of it is a lot simpler to arrange and customise with totally different options. Now that NotebookLM has a cellular app as nicely, it opens up much more flexibility in how I combine it with Obsidian.
The extra I take advantage of these two and combine them, the higher they will be, which is one thing I am genuinely so enthusiastic about.
I can return into Obsidian to revise or increase what I’ve written and benefit from its big selection of options. Maintaining Obsidian tidy additionally improves how nicely NotebookLM can course of and use the content material — particularly as I make updates. As soon as I sync the 2, I can use NotebookLM like a chatbot, asking questions to look deeper into the analysis. The extra I take advantage of these two and combine them, the higher they will be, which is one thing I am genuinely so enthusiastic about.
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